STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The annual Five Boro Bike Tour on Sunday, May 5, will result in the closure of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge's Staten Island-bound lanes on the lower level for most of the day, but the upper level will remain open at all times, the MTA has announced.

About 32,000 bike riders will traverse the span into the borough for the event's final stretch. In past years, significant traffic jams have developed on the Brooklyn side, heading into Staten Island, as motorists squeeze into the bridge's three available lanes.

Here are the specifics:

The Verrazano's Staten Island-bound lower level will be closed from 12:01 a.m. until 6 p.m. on the day of the event. The Brooklyn-bound lower level will be closed from 12:01 a.m. until 8 a.m., at which time two of three lanes will be reopened.

The Bay Street exit will be shut down from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The I-278/BQE approach to the Verrazano will be shut down from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Also, the 92nd Street entrance to the lower level will be closed from from about 12:01 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Motorists using the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel from Manhattan to Brooklyn will be diverted to Hamilton Avenue between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

On Staten Island, those trying to get around Rosebank, Clifton, Stapleton, Tompkinsville and St. George should prepare for detours. The official plan for Staten Island streets has not been announced, but expect parts of School Road, Bay Street, Edgewater Street, Front Street, Hannah Street and Richmond Terrace near the St. George Ferry Terminal to be closed from late morning until early evening.

The event, officially known as the TD Five Boro Bike Tour presented by REI,
has become a tradition for the first Sunday in May. Unlike its
road-racing counterpart, the New York City Marathon, the 40-mile bike
tour ends on Staten Island instead of starting here.

The
rain-or-shine tour kicks off north of Battery Park and heads toward
Central Park. The cyclists loop through the Bronx and ride over the
Queensboro and Pulaski bridges before zipping through Brooklyn and the
Verrazano's lower deck.

An outdoor festival at Staten Island's
Fort Wadsworth will feature bike demonstrations, giveaways, games, food,
product samples,
massages and merchandise.
Cyclists then head down Bay Street for the final three miles. In St. George, thousands of cyclists will
board Staten Island ferryboats for the return trip to Manhattan.